


Closer

by TheLightFury



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cute Teddy Lupin, Fluff, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, M/M, Pining Harry Potter, Soft Draco Malfoy, Teddy has a nightmare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29108568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLightFury/pseuds/TheLightFury
Summary: When Teddy has a nightmare, both his uncles run to comfort him. A story of how children can meddle at the worst of times, even without meaning to.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 5
Kudos: 139





	Closer

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to OTPshipper98 for the beta! <3

Teddy's scream wakes him instantly.

Like a stampeding elephant, Harry thunders through the house, and though he knows it’s wrong, though he knows he shouldn’t, he can’t help but hope he gets there first. 

It's not that he doesn't trust Malfoy with Teddy—far from it. It's just that he doesn’t know how to cope with this new Malfoy. The one who’s still cutting and haughty, but witty, instead of mean. The one whose eyes spark when he sees Teddy. The one who's attentive to Teddy's every need, yet forgets to eat himself. The one who has boundless energy for tickle fights, trips to museums, and baking, but whose every breath seems to scream exhaustion at times. This entirely new Malfoy who's been making Harry’s stomach do…  _ things. _

Harry wouldn’t know what to do if he found him curled around Teddy, carefully, protectively. As though he’d break if squeezed too hard. The mere mental image has his mouth running dry. 

Somehow, with only a split-second between them, he flies into Teddy’s room first, quickly scooping him close as Malfoy hits the soft-glow night-light. His stormy eyes never stray from Teddy as he carefully settles on the bed next to them, cheeks delicately flushed from the run. Harry's stomach swoops.

“H—hey, cuddle bug,” he coos, blaming the quiver in his voice on Teddy’s fervent burrowing into his chest. “It’s okay, you’re safe, I promise. I’m here, and Uncle Draco’s here too.”

“It was just a dream,” Malfoy murmurs, brushing back the damp hair from Teddy’s forehead with such tenderness Harry almost chases his fingers for himself.

“Promise?” a tiny muffled voice sniffles.

“I promise, gummy bear.” 

“'Kay..." Teddy whispers, uncertainty audible as the nickname plays on the chords in Harry's heart. "Don’t wanna go back to sleep, though."

“That’s okay," he squeezes him gently. "You don’t have to right now. What do you want to do? We could make some hot chocolate and watch Mulan? I know you love that film.”

He really does; Reflection was the first song Teddy had ever sung, and somehow, in the 19 months, three weeks, and four days since he first saw the movie, he’s managed to sing at least part of it every day.

“Want cuddle from Uncle Draco, too,” Teddy whimpers instead. 

“Sure, cuddle bug.”

But as Harry begins to maneuver Teddy so Malfoy can take him, tiny hands fist in his shirt.

“No!” Teddy wails, clinging on for dear life. “Want both!”

“Both of us?” Malfoy repeats after a moment.

“Ye-es,” Teddy hiccups. 

"Er—" Harry manages, heart pounding as images of curling up to Malfoy—of _Malfoy_ _hugging him_ —make him short circuit. 

“ _ Please? _ ”

"I—well, we—uh…"

"Absolutely." 

_ 'Absolutely?!' _ Harry's eyes snap to Malfoy, a million questions flying through his mind in an instant. But the git's already moving, crawling up the bed to nestle on his side under the covers on the far side. Harry's skin burns from where Draco brushes past him.

"Now, Uncle Harry can come lay next to me, and you can be in the middle with both of us hugging you, okay, gummy bear?" he says, as if this was the most natural thing in the world. "It'll be like a Teddy Bear Sandwich, right, Uncle Harry?"

Grey eyes meet his as Harry just stares, heart breaking the world record of beats per minute. Teddy looks at him.

"A—absolutely." 

Parch mouthed, he settles Teddy next to Malfoy, before slowly lifting the covers and sliding between them, breath catching as his toes tickle what can only be Malfoy’s thick socked foot. 

"There," Malfoy murmurs, as Teddy wriggles into his uncle’s side. "Better?"

"Too far," Teddy frowns, chubby fingers latching onto Harry's top again, pulling. "Closer."

_ 'Do you want to kill me, Teddy?!' _ Harry's mind shrieks as he struggles to draw breath. But as yet more tugs hound him, he has no choice but to shimmy forward. Only when he's pressed securely against Teddy's side— _ fuck _ , he can feel Malfoy's breath on his cheek—does Teddy stop.

"Hmm," his godson sighs, head falling sideways onto Malfoy's chest as his hand stays firmly tangled in Harry's top. "Better."

"Good," Malfoy murmurs, so quiet yet so deafening to Harry's ears. "Want us to tell you a story?"

"Mhmm," Teddy nods, though his eyes are already fluttering shut. "The one with the—" he yawns, "—dragon."

"Alright then," Malfoy smiles, that stupid, infuriating, horrendously gorgeous smile that lights his whole face and reduces Harry to a puddle of goo. "Once upon a time…"

As a delighted, sleepy grin spreads across Teddy's face, electrifying heat consumes Harry, tingling, sparking, fizzing with every soft syllable from Malfoy's mouth, every gentle inflection of his voice. But of course, Malfoy barely finishes his third sentence before soft snores punctuate his rendition of the story, and he falls silent. Harry curses the wave of disappointment that runs through him.

"Pansy always said I was boring," Malfoy smiles softly, gazing lovingly at the boy between them and setting off fireworks in Harry's chest once more.

"She wasn't wrong," he manages to half-smile, swallowing the words that spring to his tongue:  _ you could never be boring.  _ He huffs a quiet laugh at the resulting scowl. "Think we should wait a minute before getting up?"

"I think we live here now, Potter."

Just like Teddy mere moments ago, Malfoy's eyes are fighting to close, breaths evening out as his arm instinctively curls around Teddy's waist. They skim Harry's hip. He almost falls out of the bed. Malfoy, the wanker, snorts lightly.

"Night, Potter," he murmurs smugly before Harry can hex him. But with a single look at that soft, sleepy smile, warmth blooms in his chest, suffocating any plans for retaliation.

"Good night, Malfoy," he whispers hoarsely after swallowing far too hard, but he may as well have not bothered. Malfoy's already snoring too, blissfully oblivious to how hard Harry’s heart is pounding, how tight his chest is, and how utterly impossible it is to look anywhere but his face.

Struggling to draw breath, Harry suppresses a moan. He's well and truly fucked.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoyed :D come find me on Tumblr, @april-thelightfury115


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